Ugly Baby

Do you recall that Seinfeld episode in which some annoying friends of the gang insist that they all come over to "see the baby"? And while the TV audience never actually gets to see the baby, it's clear from the reactions of Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer that it's a pretty ugly infant. The parents, of course, don't realize it. To the parents, the baby is always beautiful.

Likewise, Monday Night's game was a beautiful thing to Packers fans. To the rest of the football world, however, it was a notoriously ugly game.

As the commentators repeatedly observed, the Ravens and Packers combined for the second-most penalty yardage in a single game in NFL history. Furthermore, the 2009 Packers are only the second team in NFL history to commit 3 turnovers and accumulate so many penalty yards and yet still win the game. Remarkable.

The Ravens looked like one of the better teams in the NFL back in September, and they looked pretty tough to me when I saw them beat the Steelers last week, as well. Furthermore, they needed Monday's game more than we did. I was very apprehensive, therefore, about the prospect of them coming into Lambeau and beating us on national TV. Instead, however, we dominated them throughout the first half, and we managed to pull away again after letting them get inexcusably close in the second half.

Of course, we come away with much to correct, in spite of the win. The interceptions are an embarassment, and the number of flags on our defensive backfield made me think that Ahmad Carroll was back on the team. Worse still, I believe that our special teams are being coached by Madeline Albright. (She was the Secretary of State, you recall, who declared that it was unfair for the United States to be the only superpower in the world.) Likewise, when the Packers get too far ahead, our special teams seem determined to get the opponent back in the game. Another missed field goal by Mason Crosby and another huge kickoff return following a Green Bay touchdown: those are unsettling patterns as we look toward the postseason.

Still, for all that was ugly about the game on Monday Night, I'll take an ugly "W" over a pretty "L" every time.